CardDAV-Sync FAQ

Please append your question to the end of this page.

Is CardDAV-Sync open source Software?

Currently it isn't, but it is planned to make it open source once it evolves to version 1.0.

Update: Some parts are already open source. See open source status for details.

Why don't you make it open source right now?

Because it's not ready yet. Some parts of the source code are quite messy, it would be too embarrassing to publish it ;-)

Is it safe to use two-way-sync?

I'm using two-way-sync myself and I know of many users using it as well. So far I've not heard of any serious data loss or corruption. Still, the source code it not stabilized yet and every modification can bring new bugs, so use it with care. (Making backups on a regular base is a good idea anyway).

How do I setup CardDAV-Sync with ...

Please see the list of Supported servers & services then select your server/service to see the set up instructions.

I can create/edit a contact's names and photos only!?!

This is a known issue in Android 2.x. The stock contact editor is not capable of editing contacts from custom sources (please see Issue 5988). To address this issue I've taken the editor from the Android 2.1 sources and made it work with custom sources. Its available at the market as Contact Editor free or Contact Editor Pro (the later one has several improvements over the stock editor)

I can not add contacts to my CardDAV account on Android 4.0.3!

The contact editor bug above has been fixed in Android 4.0. Unfortunately, this is broken again in 4.0.3 (see Issue 24413). So if you use 4.0.3 you still have to use the workaround mentioned above (use Contact Editor or Contact Editor Pro). Actually the contact editor in 4.0.3 has been improved and fully supports custom sync adapters now. Unfortunately this is not documented and I had to browse the Android sources to get it to work. Android 4.0.3 support has been added in CardDAV-Sync 0.3.4.

It doesn't sync! What can I do?

Please have a look at Supported servers & services first. Maybe there is a known issue with your server. Otherwise please read "How to report bugs" and send me a bug report.

My accounts are gone when I reboot the phone!

You've probably moved the app onto the SD card. Android loads all sync adapters during boot. If a sync adapter is not found, a "clean up" method is triggered. This method is important to remove dead accounts when you uninstall a sync adapter. If you move the app to SD then it may not be available during the account check (as the SD card may be mounted at a later time) and your accounts will be removed. So the fix is: Move the app back to the internal memory.

Two-way-sync doesn't seem to work!?

There is one major misconception when it comes to syncing contacts that already existed on the phone before CardDAV-Sync was set up! By design, Android separates contacts from different accounts internally. CardDAV-Sync creates a separate empty address book (i.e. account) and keeps it in sync with the server. Contacts from other address books are not taken into account on sync. To sync a contact to your CardDAV server you'll have to create it explicitly in your CardDAV account. This is the behaviour most people expect, your address books don't get merged (Android just merges them when it presents the contacts list to you). Google contacts don't get synced to your CardDAV server and vice versa! Same is true for local contacts or any other contacts source. There are apps to copy/move contacts from one account to another (just search for "copy contacts").

I've a new self-signed certificate, how can I get the app to accept it without recreating the account

Just open the account settings and go to "Update password", then enter your password and proceed. The app will ask you if you accept the new certificate.

Does CardDAV-Sync support auto-provisioning? How does it work?

Please see auto-provisioning for an explanation of this feature.

My Motorola device does not sync automatically, I always have to sync manually

An user reported this is due to a default setting on some Motorola devices. Please see https://forums.motorola.com/posts/d276744989 for the solution.